[Mountain_Skies]

I my state, local sales taxes (which are a consumption tax) are hugely popular, especially in conservative areas. The reason is simple: voters know upfront what the taxes going to be used for (usually education related capital expenses and road improvements), when the tax will expire, and that it will only be used in the county instead of being shipped off somewhere else to be administered and a portion skimmed off. Each time they come up for renewal, they usually get passed by a large margin. So maybe the problem isn't that people don't like consumption taxes but that they don't like taxes disappearing into a black hole with dubious or non-existent benefits or even used to create negative value to the community.